Greetings from Michigan...

Hi guys!
I just became the friend of a beautiful Eastern Tiger salamander. He was living in a large aquarium at my work place that I had always thought was empty. Apparently he had been found a couple of years prior, stuck in there with some dry sandy substrate and fed 2 dozen crickets twice a year or so. As soon as we met I knew that I had to rescue him. So I asked around and was given both the salamander (Salvador as we call him) and the tank he was in (I think it may be a 40 or 50 gallon? haven't measured it.) I got it home, cleaned it up very well, bought him a water dish, mixed michigan earth with jungle bedding designed for amphibians and reptiles and some moss and decked it out to match our environment as best I could. He's doing really well now, I gave him a dozen crickets and he munched them all in under an evening, no more twice a year torture for my buddy. Anyway, just wanted to say hello and introduce myself. Any words of advice to a new keeper would be much appreciated.

What a lucky salamander, to have found you! He sounds happier already. Maybe he'll get something besides boring old crickets sometimes now.

Did you use spanghum moss? Because that has a low Ph and can be harmful to your salamander.

no it was some kind of designer pet moss that said it was safe for amphibians, I was careful what I chose for him. I plan to start feeding him mostly earth worms (nightcrawlers), crickets and other feeder bugs also and maybe when he gets bigger the very occasional pinky. Thanks for responding guys.

Be careful because sometimes products say they are safe for amphibians, but they really aren't.

Well, I think you're doing a great job and it's going to be a very happy little creature.

I also agree. Good luck.

If you want a happy tiger salamander give it a few waxworms every now and then. It's like giving kids chocolate.

The other thing I would say is make sure it has a lot of substrate to dig in - I would say a minimum of 4 inches (10 centimetres).